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Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Education / “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” (15907 Views)
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Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by southernbelle(f): 8:18am On Oct 31, 2016 |
No, it doesn't. 1 Like |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by zoomzoom(m): 8:19am On Oct 31, 2016 |
Midgut: ..and I suppose science and technology are taught in your langue martenalle? |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by lyterydim(m): 8:20am On Oct 31, 2016 |
eph12:you need a mental reconfiguration brother, It's without intellectual ability their is no academic excellence, SO we are talking the same thing, Moreover how can you claim you are successful in academic without knowing your root( mothers tongue)? It's is knowing your language and knowing it well that enhance your knowledge to define things and undastand things in your own terms. 1 Like |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by Noneroone(m): 8:22am On Oct 31, 2016 |
Rapmoney:English as a first language? Japanese dont speak English yet Japan is considered the most technological advanced nation. Chinese, Germans and Jews are developing because they embrassed their languages. It has been proven that using one's own language makes learning easier. 2 Likes |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by lyterydim(m): 8:26am On Oct 31, 2016 |
greatjoey:Thank you sir for reminding me of being grammatically handicap, Where were you when a certificateless man becomes your president? The most important thing is I have made my point and even the less educated fellow can undastand me, My brother forget about this your posing and claims, With money you don't need to speak much English to command respect, I will be looking forward to employ you in a near future. |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by EdoBoy90(m): 8:26am On Oct 31, 2016 |
First, English is not the most spoken language in the world. In fact, English is third in term of hierarchy of languages in the world. Chinese is the most spoken language in the world follow by Spanish then English. About 1.2 bn people are speaking Chinese. Today, China has taken over world economy two weeks ago according to IMF rating. Before you know it, they will be number one world power country in the world. For instance, take Germany, China, Japan, India, Russia etc they don't speak English yet they are well developed. India was colonized by Britain, today the Indians are speaking their official language not English. Let us have our own official language not this imported and adopted language called Enligh. Most countries colonized by Britain are not speaking English as their official language again. They have abolished English and speaking their main official language. 2 Likes |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by airsaylongcon: 8:26am On Oct 31, 2016 |
bukynkwuenu: What's tabalaraza? |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by Ugosample(m): 8:27am On Oct 31, 2016 |
lyterydim: But there are Many Nigerians in which English is their first language and they think in English, and also understand things in their own terms...... Language is fluid bro. The first Language(s) you learn and learn well is your mother tongue, which does not have to be the language of your ancestors. If you learnt Yoruba first, and can speak it well, understand the idioms/proverbs, etc, then your first language is Yoruba, and such person will most likely think in Yoruba. But if it is English, that person's native language is English. That is just the way it is. |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by DerKaiser: 8:27am On Oct 31, 2016 |
Not necessarily. During my secondary school days, I moved from C.I.C. Enugu to Lagos, in order to continue my secondary education there. It was a private school where they had all those Lagos rich kids from Ikoyi and so on. You know the type who travel to the States and the UK every long vacation and often return with their forced phonetics and American/British accent. My English was very "Enuguish and Igbotic" then but I consistently had all As and Bs while there and climaxed it with WAEC and NECO results that were still all As. It turned out that most of those Queens English speaking kids in my school then were all compound Olodos. They often fail like they are getting paid for it. There you have it. Diction and English proficiency does not determine academic success or excellence. 2 Likes |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by Ugosample(m): 8:29am On Oct 31, 2016 |
Noneroone: I get your point, but many Jewish people cannot speak Hebrew.... they speak other languages, English and German especially, yet they have won more Nobel laurettes than any other ethnic group. How do you explain that? ![]() 1 Like |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by Ugosample(m): 8:31am On Oct 31, 2016 |
EdoBoy90: But Lithuania, Belarus, and Sri Lanka among other countries speak their languages, yet they are not developed AT ALL. How do you explain that? What makes a country developed really is how serious the people are not necessarily the language, because there are MANY countries in this world who speak their "own" languages yet they are not developed. 1 Like |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by lyterydim(m): 8:32am On Oct 31, 2016 |
Ugosample:iram agree with you bro in some extent, English has Notting to do with academic excellence, One of our best student in physic and maths those days can't even express themselves fluently,but when it's comes to educatonal archivement bro nobody near them |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by Ugosample(m): 8:34am On Oct 31, 2016 |
DerKaiser: Yea Whether you can speak your language or not, an intellegent person is an intellegent person. Like the Jewish people who are scattered across the world, but cannot speak Hebrew, yet they are excelling at every turn.... No be by language o |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by eph12(m): 8:35am On Oct 31, 2016 |
lyterydim:It is possible to pass exam without even learning much. I saw this happen in the university. How this translates to intellectual excellence is not clear to me but of course getting good grades means academic excellence |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by Rapmoney(m): 8:35am On Oct 31, 2016 |
Noneroone:I am aware of these but ask yourself whether Nigeria is truly industrialized! How do Nigerians learn in their local languages when they would need to go to the industrialized nations to learn? Or you think one Japanese fellow would have time to teach you in your mother's tongue? ![]() |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by eph12(m): 8:37am On Oct 31, 2016 |
lyterydim:This is not the argument |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by omonnakoda: 8:37am On Oct 31, 2016 |
The question was about speaking English as FIRST LANGUAGE. Most people have gone on to answer questions of their own creation. In Nigeria English is the language of instruction in schools and mastery of WRITTEN English correlates with academic excellence, of that there can be no doubt. Mastery of written English and mastery of spoken English are completely different things. The other thing of course, is that spoken English in its natural habitats ALWAYS has a colloquial form as well as a formal one. e.g. In Newcastle people are more likely to say aye/nay than Yes or no and so on. In Nigeria, colloquialism these days means a confused motley of Americanisms that quite frankly are nauseating e.g. My Nigga and so on There are distinct and credible colloquial forms in countries like America,Australia and some other Commonwealth countries. Whilst there are some peculiarly Nigerian ways of speaking these have never been standardized and we cannot be said to have evolved a colloquial form.Our kind of English is best used for formal situations I will never advocate speaking English as a First Language in Nigeria. What is important though is that people learn English early and learn to read and write in it as soon as possible perhaps from the age of 3-4 and thereafter encouraged to consume huge amounts of written work from diverse sources. Those people who read the most as children are better linguists. An intelligent child should be able to read independently from age 7 and supplied with copious material. As far as the spoken form is concerned ,I do not think Nigerians should waste time on this or attempt to make it the first language of their children .This is a misguided venture. Even at the highest level of education very few Nigerians will ever develop "ear" for English and whilst they may acquire profound vocabularies they never master fully the fundamentals or even vocabulary for the most simple things like having a wash. They may develop English for formal use but often sound stilted in social settings. Give the children books and even more books . I think a child should read 2 or 3 new books a week at the minimum There is a lot of research that shows better performance in multilingual individuals and I always advocate that people master their mother tongues first and then all things shall be added unto them. 1 Like |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by EdoBoy90(m): 8:40am On Oct 31, 2016 |
Ugosample:. Yes, you are right. How serious the people are is the mainstream of development. |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by EdoBoy90(m): 8:40am On Oct 31, 2016 |
Ugosample: |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by Sanchez01: 8:41am On Oct 31, 2016 |
Rapmoney:Your first paragraph assertion is so wrong. That the child would not do well in school because all subjects are taught using the English does not apply to every country on the face of the earth. Let me also add that the OP's question is not limited or restricted to Nigeria but to every country there is. Hence, there's a need for us to critically exam how these countries have fared with or without the English Language. China remains the world's foremost production house of the world, yet most Chinese don't even understand the English language. Interestingly, Mandarin (Chinese langiage) is the world's most spoken and most popular language. That English is our lingua franca does not mean it is the true test for intelligence or brilliance. We were colonized by the Brits, hence, the heavy influence of their language on us. Furthermore, here is a country with over 250 ethnic group, the 'cheapest' unifying language considered was the English language. Quite unfortunately, we cannot bulge since it is the language of instruction. Linguists would tell you that the mother tongue (L1) is innate in a child, and the urge to learn another (L2) is highly available. When this happens, we say such a person is BILINGUAL; possess the ability to effectively read and write in more than a language, and last I checked, bilingualism was never a test for intelligence as there are varying factors which could impede some persons. My argument Most Chinese are not bilingual. They are deeply rooted into their culture and traditions that they do not feel there's a need to learn some other languages of the world. If you meet a well placed Chinese man, you'd discover that he readily has an interpreter at his disposal, yet, as a people, they hold the world by the balls, technology and production wise. I can effortlessly speak the Urhobo language (L1), the Yoruba Language (L2), the English language (L2) and a fraction of Spanish (L2) and that might not necessarily make me excel within the academic sphere so long I don't develop INTEREST in my academic quest. About 6 years back, I had some course mates (females) who would speak English like they were born outside Nigeria but would readily disturb you to explain tons of things to them before exams and you'd get to ask if the English language is not sufficient enough to save them. All in all, academic excellence is not dependent on the English language and vice versa. As a matter of fact, students all over would excel greatly if taught with their mother tongues (L1). 3 Likes |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by EdoBoy90(m): 8:50am On Oct 31, 2016 |
Sanchez01: |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by Simmyrich(m): 9:03am On Oct 31, 2016 |
Who english don epp?? ![]() |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by o42austino(m): 9:09am On Oct 31, 2016 |
It does not but, without knowledge of English as first language it destroys the child chances of catching up fast. I have a little niece of five staying with me now. The mom died during her birth and her grandparent(Her mother parent) raised her till she's five. She is in basic one now and she stays with me but, she can't understand anything because the teacher uses English in teaching, even when we are doing her assessment she is still struggling, I noticed that whenever we are solving mathematics she is always lively and grabs it's because it's in figures but, whenever we switch to other subjects which are written in the English she is lost... This worries me die. |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by musicwriter(m): 9:18am On Oct 31, 2016 |
Midgut: That's a very good response up there!. English itself borrowed heavily from French, Latin, Spanish, German. It's a pity we have people here associating English with intelligence when the language itself is a patched up language. 1 Like |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by femi4: 9:19am On Oct 31, 2016 |
Tolupride:NO......Reading and Writing in English is key. That's what promote academic excellence. I ve seen kids with good command of English language yet find it difficult when writing. e.g Writing "This" as "Dis", "Knife" as "nife", "Elephant" as "Elefant" etc. In exam hall, you are not going to be speaking to your answer booklet, your ability to read and understand and writing skills determines your grades not how eloquent you are |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by ibnjarir93(m): 9:33am On Oct 31, 2016 |
A basic skill is required to comprehend anything that is being taught in your language of instruction. You do not have to attain proficiency in English to comprehend what you're being taught in it. |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by musicwriter(m): 9:39am On Oct 31, 2016 |
Tolupride: Well, yes, and that's only because we're still slaves serving Britain who made English language a prerequisite for knowledge acquisiton in all their colonies. What you don't know is this question would have been totally unnecessary, if English wasn't made a yardstick for knowledge acquisition in Nigeria. Someone came to your land, enslaved you for 400 years, villified your native language, forced you to learn his language instead, and you're here asking whether he did you a favour? French also did same in their colonies, and if you ask people in former French colonies they'll also say "yes". The result- which is destruction of our native languages, culture, ideals, point of view, identity, e.t.c is incaculable. Indeed, intellectual slavery is the worst legacy colonialism http://www.africason.com/2015/10/intellectual-slavery-most-dangerous.html Go through the part1 and part2 of above link and let me know whether you still think English languages in Nigeria is a very good thing. |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by omonnakoda: 9:40am On Oct 31, 2016 |
ibnjarir93:I guess proficiency now has a new meaning |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by Noneroone(m): 9:45am On Oct 31, 2016 |
Rapmoney:guess you are missing the point. The question is does english as first language enhance academic excellence? The answer is no 'cos most advanced nations dont use English as first languge. The problem with Africa and especially Nigeria is politics of development. Ask yourself why Africa is the only continent whose people hold tight to European languages as first language, jettissioning their indigenous languages? Even those who want to free themselves and chart their own course are resisted and persecuted using crab mentality. |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by musicwriter(m): 9:47am On Oct 31, 2016 |
plavic: China is not gravitating towards English education. Over there English is simply sudied as a subject in school, not as a language of instruction or way of life as we do over here. |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by ibnjarir93(m): 9:51am On Oct 31, 2016 |
omonnakoda:I doubt if you know what "proficiency" means. |
Re: “Does Speaking Of English As First Language Promotes Academic Excellence?” by musicwriter(m): 9:54am On Oct 31, 2016 |
Rapmoney: Almost every word you know in chemistry. Physics, Biology, are French word, Spanish word, Greek word, Latin word. They were originally not English words themselves!. Intellectual laziness among African scholars and educationists is the only reason you think we can't. Malaysians and Indonesians has already translated theirs!. 1 Like |
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